Famed boxing promoter Don King's plan to give away nearly 3,000 turkeys Friday to the needy, from Mangonia Park to Miami, was KO'd after the truckload of turkeys went missing.

There were rumors that the truck containing the fresh Butterball turkeys had been abandoned, or even hijacked, but it turned out a flat tire in North Florida on Wednesday night — and a driver who was incommunicado Thursday with his home base — delayed the turkeys by 24 hours.

The birds finally arrived at a Pompano Beach Costco warehouse Friday morning, but too late for the giveaway.

King said he plans to reschedule the giveaway, with a new truckload of turkeys, for as soon as possible next week. He vowed not to let those in need down. The giveaway is an annual tradition the South Florida resident has carried out for 50 years.

"It's just great to be able to feed the hungry, the poor, the downtrodden, in whatever way we can. We want the people to know we care for them," King said Friday. "You have thousands of people losing their homes, you have thousands of people losing their jobs."

Lew Thompson of Huntsville, Ark., who operates a trucking company that has delivered Butterball turkeys across the country for 28 years, said his driver had a blowout Wednesday night in Milton, in the western Panhandle. The truck could not be repaired until Thursday, but by then, Thompson said, he could not reach his driver on his cell phone.

Thursday night, a satellite GPS receiver on the truck indicated it was only a few miles from the Costco warehouse, but Thompson said he still could not reach the driver. He said he called the Florida Highway Patrol to check on the driver, but the truck had moved by the time a trooper got to the location.

"The whole deal has been blown plumb out of proportion," Thompson lamented, adding that he regretted that the turkeys did not arrive on time. "We are embarrassed to death over it."